Playing a musical instrument makes you smarter

For our music lovers and lovers in general – Happy Valentine’s Day!

ESTHETICS: the study of such artistic concepts as beauty, taste, etc.  This word is used to describe a higher plane of awareness.  Its main component is an art form such as canvas painting, singing, and playing a musical instrument.  If a person creates art in any form, that person is much more stable and usually does better in anything that he or she does. There is extreme joy in creation with much emphasis on playing a musical instrument. So let us examine what happens when playing a musical instrument*. 

First of all one must examine every key both black and white.  Each one has a unique sound. These sounds are played connected or disconnected (staccato). Then one must relate these keys together in organized sets such as chords and arpeggios.  The most common ones are major and minor.  Then there are types such as 7ths and 9ths and all other sorts of combinations.  The main idea is that combinations make also unique sounds and some pleasurable and some not so pleasurable depending on what effect one wants.  Definitions are not important here but the concept of infinite sounds and groups of sounds become a creation in itself.

So now let us examine what happens when a person creates a sound on the piano.  First the brain directs nerve flow to the spinal cord that exits at the nerve roots located from C5 to C7 neck levels.  Then the nerve flow branches either to the right or left hands or both depending if the right, left or both hands are involved. Then the brain directs proper (more or less) force depending on effects wanted.   With each moment of strikes, the brain anticipated the next strike until the performance is completed.  Each strike is dependent on timing, speed, energy and connection.  And that is only the first and easiest type of creation.  Consider the coordination of creation with other creations such as another instrument or other instruments in an orchestra.  Then consider that coordination with the conductor and percussion to keep proper timing.   This procedure, as you can imagine, becomes quite an activity with brain activity, coordination, percussion, hearing and seeing as well as other sensations not mentioned here.

Now we are ready to examine the next level of activity and that is memorization of all these procedures after being mastered.  Imagine the practice individually and with other musicians to master an orchestration of merit.

Repetition grows brain tissue.
At last we are ready to talk about the brain and its interpretation of events and how it can play with these events for future endeavors. We can certainly imagine how the brain interaction takes place with all its connection to the body and how that could improve and therefore prevent old age diseases such as Alzheimer and dementia.

Yours in Life,
docMIKE

* contributing writer, James Amato, DC (Piano musician over 60 years)